The Nagpur Food and Wine Festival – December 3 to 4, 2016

Members of the Nagpur Wine Lovers Club pictured at a recent event in Nagpur

The Nagpur Wine & Food Festival has been organised by the Nagpur Wine Lovers Club since 2013, writes Brinda Gill.Â The FestivalÂ venue isÂ the heritage CP ClubÂ arrangedÂ on the lawns of Woods in the leafy environs of Civil Lines Nagpur. With an increasing presence of wineries, wine accessories stalls, food and other stalls as well as visitors, the festival has grown every year. Wine lovers and enthusiasts from Nagpur and other cities look forward to and enjoy the offering of wine and food and the charming ambience of the festival.

The Nagpur Wine Lovers Club was established in 2011 with the aim to cultivate a wine culture in Central India. Starting with four members, the club now has 202 members who are residents of Nagpur. The club regularly conducts wine tastings, promotes responsible wine consumption, conducts wine education sessions, an annual wine festival, and wine related tours in India and abroad.

Credit for genesis of the club goes to the efforts of Sharad Phadnis, who is passionate about wine and promoting wine culture. â€œI was very keen to start a wine club in Nagpur, the winter capital of Maharashtra. Though Maharashtra is the countryâ€™s top producer of grapes and wines, the Central India region where Nagpur is located does not produce grapes, as the climate is not favourable for growing grapes. The city is of course famous for its oranges.â€

Phadnis says that since the inception of the club, the city has witnessed a substantial growth in consumptionÂ of wine and many of its members have switched over to drinking wine from hard liquor. He believes that wine clubs play an important role in promoting wine culture.Â â€œIn my view, Indian cities with a population of over about 1.5 million should establish a wine club so as to increase the wineÂ drinkingÂ culture which in turn would help support many wineries.

â€œEver since the formation of the Nagpur Wine Lovers Club, wine consumption in the city has shown an average growth of 20% per annum. With the current force of over four million people and new development plans for the city, projects like MIHAN, Metro Rail, wildlife tourism and the geographical advantage of being centrally located in India, Nagpur cannot go unnoticed in the coming years. It has immense potential for wineries to establish their brands. Wine clubs like ours also provide a good platform for wineries to launch new brands.â€

This year, The Nagpur Wine & Food Festival is slated to be held from December 3rd to 4th, 2016.Â For more details, write to Sharad Phadnis at ngpwineclub@gmail.com or call him at +919970882351.